Method for Divisionally Managing Files on a User Basis, and a Storage System and Computer Program Product Thereof

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising: presenting a medium to more than one user as being exclusively occupied by whichever user attempts to access at least one file from the medium; writing a first file managed by a first user to a data partition of the medium; writing a second file managed by a second user to the data partition of the medium; storing a first user identifier (ID) that identifies the first user as metadata to a first user-specific index in an index partition of the medium in response to writing the first file managed by the first user; and storing a second user ID that identifies the second user as metadata to a second user-specific index in the index partition of the medium in response to writing the second file managed by the second user.

2. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the medium is divided into two or more partitions to enable reading and writing by a file system for a tape drive, wherein the partitions include the index partition in which metadata is stored and a data partition in which data of the first file is stored.

3. The method as recited in claim 2 , further comprising: storing user access rights information for other users to access a file managed by each user as metadata in the index partition of the medium, the user access rights information indicating which users have access to certain files stored to the data partition of the medium.

4. The method as recited in claim 2 , further comprising: storing first file attribute information about the first file that is associated with the first user ID as metadata to the first user-specific index in the index partition of the medium.

5. The method as recited in claim 4 , wherein the first file attribute information comprises a file name, a data location in the data partition of the medium, and a size of the first file.

6. A medium to which at least one file is written by each of the more than one user according to the method as recited in claim 1 .

7. A storage system, comprising: a hardware processor and logic integrated with and/or executable by the hardware processor, the logic being configured to cause the hardware processor to execute the method of claim 1 , wherein the medium is divided into two or more partitions, wherein the two or more partitions include the index partition configured to store metadata and a data partition configured to store data of the first file.

8. The storage system as recited in claim 7 , wherein the logic is configured to cause the hardware processor to: store first file attribute information about the first file that indicates that the first user manages the first file as metadata to the first user-specific index in the index partition of the medium, wherein the more than one user is allowed to write at least one file to the medium in such a manner that the at least one file is divisionally managed in a system environment in which an input/output control is performed on a storage system, and wherein the first file attribute information includes a file name of the first file, a data location for the first file in the medium, and a size of the first file.

9. The storage system as recited in claim 8 , wherein the first user ID identifying the first user is identified in the system environment.

10. The storage system as recited in claim 8 , wherein the logic is configured to cause the hardware processor to: read the metadata from the medium in response to a request from the first user to access the first file; extract, from the metadata, the first file attribute information associated with the first user ID that indicates the first user from the metadata; and read the first file from the data partition of the medium based on the first file attribute information associated with the first user ID.

11. The storage system as recited in claim 7 , wherein the second file is indicated as being managed by the second user by second file attribute information and wherein the logic is configured to cause the hardware processor to save, to the second user-specific index in the index partition of the medium as metadata, the second file attribute information about the second file managed by the second user associated with the second user ID.

12. A computer-implemented method, comprising: reading metadata from a first user-specific index in an index partition of a medium in response to receiving a request to access a file stored on the medium, the request being received from a first user of a plurality of users that have access to the medium; extracting first file attribute information associated with a first user identifier (ID) that indicates the first user from the metadata; reading a first file based on the first file attribute information associated with the first user ID from a data partition of the medium; reading metadata from a second user-specific index in the index partition of the medium in response to receiving a request to access a second file stored on the medium, the request being received from a second user of the plurality of users that have access to the medium; extracting second file attribute information associated with a second user identifier (ID) that indicates the second user from the metadata; and reading a second file based on the second file attribute information associated with the second user ID from the data partition of the medium.

13. The method as recited in claim 12 , wherein the medium is divided into two or more partitions to enable reading and writing by a file system for a tape drive, wherein the partitions include the index partition in which the metadata is stored and the data partition in which data is stored, and wherein the first file attribute information includes a file name, a data location in the medium, and a size of the first file.

14. The method as recited in claim 12 , further comprising: reading the metadata from the medium in response to receiving a second request from the second user to access the first file; extracting, from the metadata, the first file attribute information and user access rights information relating to the first file, the user access rights information indicating which users have access to files stored to the data partition of the medium; determining whether the second user has read access rights to the first file; and reading the first file from the data partition of the medium, based on the first file attribute information, in response to a determination that the second user has read access rights to the first file.

15. A computer program product, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the embodied program instructions readable/executable by a processor to cause the processor to: divisionally manage, by the processor, at least one file stored to a first medium in a system environment in which an input/output control is performed on a storage system; present the first medium to each of a plurality of users as being exclusively occupied by whichever user attempts to access the at least one file from the first medium; write, to a data partition of the first medium, a first file managed by a first user as indicated by first file attribute information; write, as data to the data partition of the first medium, a second file managed by a second user; store, to a first user-specific index in an index partition of the first medium as metadata, a first user identifier (ID) for identifying the first user and the first file attribute information about the first file managed by the first user associated with the first user ID in response to writing the first file managed by the first user; and store, to a second user-specific index in the index partition of the first medium as metadata, a second user ID that identifies the second user in response to writing the second file managed by the second user.

16. The computer program product as recited in claim 15 , wherein the first medium is divided into two or more partitions, wherein the two or more partitions include the index partition configured to store a plurality of user-specific indexes and the data partition configured to store data, and wherein the first file attribute information includes a file name of the first file, a data location for the first file in the first medium, and a size of the first file.

17. The computer program product as recited in claim 15 , wherein the second file is indicated as being managed by the second user by second file attribute information, and wherein the embodied program instructions are readable/executable by the processor to cause the processor to store, to the second user-specific index in the index partition of the first medium as metadata, the second file attribute information about the second file managed by the second user associated with the second user ID.

18. The computer program product as recited in claim 15 , wherein the first user ID for identifying the first user is identified in the system environment in which input/output control is performed by the processor.

19. The computer program product as recited in claim 15 , wherein the embodied program instructions are readable/executable by the processor to cause the processor to: store, in the first medium as metadata, user access rights information for other users of the plurality of users to access any files managed by each of the plurality of users, wherein the user access rights information is identified in the system environment and saved in the index partition as metadata.

20. The computer program product as recited in claim 15 , wherein the embodied program instructions are readable/executable by the processor to cause the processor to: store the at least one file to the first medium in response to receiving a write request from the plurality of users.